Bluetooth Speaker as a Guitar Amp - JBL Flip Review

[jonfields45]

I've got both of these now. The iLoud might be pushing the size limits to fit in a gig bag pocket but it is by far the best sounding Bluetooth speaker I've found to use as an acoustic guitar amp. It is lighter than you might expect (they claim neodymium magnets for its larger and conventional drivers by BT speaker standards). The battery life seems plenty adequate for 3+ hours of playing (I've not tested to see what its limit is). The iLoud has an integrated iRig interface which I've not tried (my kids have iPhones and Macs but I'm PC and Android based). The iRig 1/4" mono input can not be used to connect a guitar directly to the iLoud without an iPhone or other IOS device running an amp simulator. I think they missed the boat on an obvious feature and wonder if there might be a jumper I could plug into the 3.5mm TRRS to make it work. I'll report back when I figure that out (seems like the the most obvious solution would be to short together Left, Right, and Microphone and leave ground-Ring2 open on a male TRRS jack and then use the 1/4" input with conventional guitar cable). Right now I am still using a 1/4" TS to 3.5mm TRS cable as with all the other BT speakers I've tried (the iLoud 3.5mm jack works in both TRS mode as an aux input and TRRS mode for connection to an IOS device).

The Flip2 sounds a little better than the original Flip and it uses a conventional cell phone charger instead of a 12v DC wall wart (less stuff to drag around on vacation). The Flip2 with my Traveler Escape MKII and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 with PDFs of my music make a great airplane travel package (and all can be charged with the same charger as my cell phone).

Jon

[jonfields45]

I tried to buy a second JBL Flip 2 and got two defective ones in a row (one powered down spontaneously and the other distorted at all volume levels). I also bought a case for my T5z and the Flip does not fit in the accessory compartment, but a Soundlink Mini would. I bought the Mini over the weekend and it is a much better speaker than the Flip for music and a bit better for acoustic guitar. I do find I need to roll back the bass on the T5z with the Bose. The Bose does not have as much gain as the JBL and for acoustic solos at last night's jam I had to rail the volume on my T5z. Normally I would use a pedal between the guitar and amp but I wanted to experiment with traveling really light last night; nothing that did not fit in the guitar case.

[Milan444]

Thank you for your tips and discussion. For my Traveler Guitar Pro is JBL Flip 2 the best portable solutions too. I combined it with iPhone conected to my quitar via Apogee Jam. I use app JamUp in my phone and for karaoke app Sweet Midi. It is very portable, put to my guitar case and perfect for home playing and for small party too Have a look: https://youtu.be/E8it3K9mNoY

[jonfields45]

Just bought one today and it blows away the Bose Soundlink Mini while still being small enough to stuff in a briefcase or gigbag. No distortion even playing the bottom two notes of an open G-chord with the volume up and the bass set flat on my T5z (at best I need to cut the bass for the Soundlink to not distort). It's AUX input has more gain than the Bose and is a much better match to a guitar. For MP3's the Bose wins my standard "Hey 19" test but the Klipsch still sounds quite good.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_714GROO...&awmt=p&awnw=g

[fazool]

I use a G-Boom bluetooth speaker for my portable music (porch, pool, working on the bench or car)



I use a VOX headphone practice amp for....well, headphone practicing.



You can run a stereo out line from the practice amp (in th eheadphone port) into the G-Boom stero input.

This gives you a pre-amp and a wide variety of amp effects (chorus, delay, reverb, distortion, etc.).

For my acoustic, I can daisy chain through a bypassed pedal to connect that amp cable so the chain is this:


electric guitar ==> vox headphone amp ==> 1/8" stereo patch cable ==> G-Boom aux input

acoustic guitar ==> soundhole pickup ==> bypassed looper pedal ==> vox headphone amp ==> 1/8" stereo patch cable ==> G-Boom aux input


Plugging the vox into a pedal simply changes the cord from male to female

[nate178]

Is anyone still using these portable speakers? After reading this thread, I went and bought a JBL Flip 3 to use with my Traveler Ultra Light with a passive pickup. I've been trying different pre-amplification methods (old Fishman GII preamp, LR Baggs Para DI, Fishman Aura 16) and I keep getting a little distortion no matter how I tweak the EQ and gain. I do have the Hosa 1/4" mono to 1/8" stereo cable, and I tried switching the cables around but no improvement. The only method that has provided a decent sound was when I tried the Line 6 Sonic Port and then connected the Flip 3 to the Sonic Port's headphone jack. I'm not sure I always want to carry around the Sonic Port because it needs to connect to a mobile device in order to work. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the speaker and guitar work with the preamps?

[jonfields45]

I'm using a Klipsch Groove these days. It has a large, by portable Bluetooth speaker standards, 3" driver and sounds better to my ear than the Flip. Not sure why you are getting distortion other than those preamps can't handle the hot output of that magnetic pickup. I have a Boss GE-7 I keep around for just these kind of problems where I need a little clean gain or buffering. The Groove has a relatively higher gain 3.5mm stereo AUX input and is loud enough driven direct from my T5z, where the Flip I had was not quite loud enough without some kind of preamp.

[ricdoug]

Originally Posted by nate178

Is anyone still using these portable speakers? After reading this thread, I went and bought a JBL Flip 3 to use with my Traveler Ultra Light with a passive pickup. I've been trying different pre-amplification methods (old Fishman GII preamp, LR Baggs Para DI, Fishman Aura 16) and I keep getting a little distortion no matter how I tweak the EQ and gain. I do have the Hosa 1/4" mono to 1/8" stereo cable, and I tried switching the cables around but no improvement. The only method that has provided a decent sound was when I tried the Line 6 Sonic Port and then connected the Flip 3 to the Sonic Port's headphone jack. I'm not sure I always want to carry around the Sonic Port because it needs to connect to a mobile device in order to work. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the speaker and guitar work with the preamps?

I use a Line6 Pocket Pod with my Traveler Ultra Light, Nate. The headphone out goes to the 1/8" aux input. My Bluetooth speaker favorite I bought at Guitar Center for $100 bucks total using my USMC retiree ID card 10% discount, which basically saved me the sales tax. The Samson Expedition Escape is only 8.5 pounds and while not as compact as many of the Bluetooth speakers listed in this thread, it has plenty of volume and punch for performing:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...e_speaker.html

[nate178]

Thank you for the replies. I don't know why I didn't suspect this earlier, but looks like there was a problem with the JBL Flip 3. Instead of trying to exchange it for another Flip to see if it was defective, I just decided to purchase a Bose Soundlink Mini 1 and it works great. I would like a little more volume but don't think it'll be possible to get higher quality sound in a similarly sized speaker. The only thing I really don't like about the Mini 1 is that it uses a proprietary charger. No USB charging at all.

Jon, thank you for the bluetooth speaker research, it actually helped me out a lot.

ricdoug, I came really close to buying that Line 6 Pocket Pod because it seemed like a much better solution for me for practicing and playing live instead of using an iRig or Sonic Port. But the poor battery life and lack of quality acoustic custom tones swayed me to stick with the Fishman Aura 16 for a while. I may check it out it some time in the future, though.

[Warrenaines]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

The Hosa CMP-110 cable (or equivalent) will make it a plug and play solution. Even with a preamp, a TRS to TRS cable will only use one side of a stereo speaker. I've tried a CMP-110 with a Taylor T5z, Godin A6 Ultra, Fender Telecaster Acoustasonic, and a Traveler Mark; all with excellent results (and all active guitars).

I did use a preamp with a TS to TRS cable in the beginning, and on occasion, I overwhelmed the front end of the Bluetooth speaker and it distorted. Putting the speaker volume on absolute max guarantees you won't run too hot into the speaker.

Jon

Recognizing this is a zombie post, any risk with using the Hosa CMP110 (or equivalent) to connect a guitar directly into a the aux in of a audio Bluetooth speaker (or other audio aux in for that matter)? Guitar/pickups would be J-45 w/ Baggs Anthem or Martin with Aura VT (both have volume controls inside guitar)

I got a Marshall Stockwell bt speaker for Christmas and manual says DO NOT connect a guitar to speaker. Possible this warning is unique to Marshall audio speakers given look and rep for guitar amps, but would be surprised if JBL Flip or other mass market audio speakers are designed to specifically handle guitars.

Is warning only addressing electrics that have different pickup systems, seems like something like the Hosa CMP110 would be the only way to directly connect guitar to speaker (have also heard it's generally significant risk to connect electrics to stereo systems)

Would having something else in the chain eliminate risk in addition to potentially improving sound quality, e.g., Zoom A3/G3x, Fishman Aura Spectrum DI preamp, or even Vox amplug2 AC30?

Edit: I emailed Marshall and will post response

[Marty C]

I did this using an iPhone irig. Use the headphone out of the irig to connect to whatever speaker you chose. You just need a 3.5mm cord (1/8" trs) from the irig to the speaker. Standard 1/4" instrument able from guitar to irig.

The eq and reverb in Amplitube worked very well with my acoustic. I actually used this set up once at church to plug my little Martin direct into the PA system. Worked great. Everyone was impressed with the sound. I used a cable with 1/8" trs on one end and 2, 1/4" on the other. I actually plugged both 1/4" into left and right on one channel on the board and it worked very well.

I haven't tried but the irig acoustic (the small mic) might work as well.

In addition, I have done this with my TC Helicon Play Acoustic. It has a headphone out and I have hooked this direct to a 1/8" aux in and had both vocal and guitar through a speaker. Have not tried in a small unit like the Bose. Just some larger speakers. I think the key is to get a headphone level signal first with 1/8" stereo out prior to going to a small speaker system.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by Warrenaines

Recognizing this is a zombie post, any risk with using the Hosa CMP110 (or equivalent) to connect a guitar directly into a the aux in of a audio Bluetooth speaker (or other audio aux in for that matter)? Guitar/pickups would be J-45 w/ Baggs Anthem or Martin with Aura VT (both have volume controls inside guitar)

I got a Marshall Stockwell bt speaker for Christmas and manual says DO NOT connect a guitar to speaker. Possible this warning is unique to Marshall audio speakers given look and rep for guitar amps, but would be surprised if JBL Flip or other mass market audio speakers are designed to specifically handle guitars.

Is warning only addressing electrics that have different pickup systems, seems like something like the Hosa CMP110 would be the only way to directly connect guitar to speaker (have also heard it's generally significant risk to connect electrics to stereo systems)

Would having something else in the chain eliminate risk in addition to potentially improving sound quality, e.g., Zoom A3/G3x, Fishman Aura Spectrum DI preamp, or even Vox amplug2 AC30?

Edit: I emailed Marshall and will post response

Speaking as a retired EE, I don't see any reason why Marshall makes that stipulation other than they think you will be disappointed and don't want to disparage the real guitar targeted products (Marshall home audio products are no doubt imported by a licensee of the Marshall trademark and not the mothership). Since a Bluetooth speaker is a fully integrated amp and driver system, it can be designed to protect itself from abuse, unlike an arbitrary home stereo setup (do people still buy these???). As with a full range speaker system, heavy metal distorted sound at maximum volume is the culprit and not likely something you will be doing.

I have found that the Bluetooth speakers with small drivers (1-2") don't sound nearly as good as the ones with larger speakers (3-5"). Lately I've been using the Klipsch Groove because it is small and still sounds good. They are also fairly sturdy as mine has been dropped more than once. On the downside it is not the best sounding speaker for MP3s and it takes a long time to turn on or off. Most of the Marshall Bluetooth speakers (except the Stockwell) are built around a larger form factor and bigger drivers and should sound pretty good. You will need to try the Stockwell and see if you like it. The bass signal processing in most Bluetooth speakers with the small drivers can have some strange aural side effects for an uncompressed acoustic guitar.

[Warrenaines]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

Speaking as a retired EE, I don't see any reason why Marshall makes that stipulation other than they think you will be disappointed and don't want to disparage the real guitar targeted products (Marshall home audio products are no doubt imported by a licensee of the Marshall trademark and not the mothership). Since a Bluetooth speaker is a fully integrated amp and driver system, it can be designed to protect itself from abuse, unlike an arbitrary home stereo setup (do people still buy these???). As with a full range speaker system, heavy metal distorted sound at maximum volume is the culprit and not likely something you will be doing.

I have found that the Bluetooth speakers with small drivers (1-2") don't sound nearly as good as the ones with larger speakers (3-5"). Lately I've been using the Klipsch Groove because it is small and still sounds good. They are also fairly sturdy as mine has been dropped more than once. On the downside it is not the best sounding speaker for MP3s and it takes a long time to turn on or off. Most of the Marshall Bluetooth speakers (except the Stockwell) are built around a larger form factor and bigger drivers and should sound pretty good. You will need to try the Stockwell and see if you like it. The bass signal processing in most Bluetooth speakers with the small drivers can have some strange aural side effects for an uncompressed acoustic guitar.

Not sure I agree with most of this.

• While the way people listen to music is certainly changing, the number of people that still use at least an A/V receiver with separate speakers is huge (and yes, people still buy home stereo equipment, vinyl for example has gained quite a resurgence even if wireless is increasingly popular)

• Small practice guitar amps and home stereos have coexisted for a while because they're built to do different things. People have certainly used home stereos on occasion but certainly not the norm and some horror stories of damage. They're horror stories because of damaging hifi equipment that's well-synergized, not random separates from Best Buy.
• It's easy to build a stereo system of separates that works without risk of damage assuming reasonable care; I doubt much if any money goes into making a cheap bt speaker less prone to damage than home stereo

• Can only speculate on reason for warning, or if it's indeed unique to Marshall seems that likely reason would be name/design of speaker -- if someone plugged a guitar directly into the aux in of a B&O speaker Bluetooth speaker and it happened to fry it, the natural reaction would be 'that was dumb, that not what it's made for.' Different given name and design on Marshall speaker.

Anyways, it does seem the risk/consequence is low for an acoustic into something like the Marshall Stockwell so I might give it a try but also looking to buy a real practice amp so need to first decide when I'll pull the trigger

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by Warrenaines

• Can only speculate on reason for warning, or if it's indeed unique to Marshall seems that likely reason would be name/design of speaker -- if someone plugged a guitar directly into the aux in of a B&O speaker Bluetooth speaker and it happened to fry it, the natural reaction would be 'that was dumb, that not what it's made for.' Different given name and design on Marshall speaker.

Funny you should mention B&O... I bought a Beoplay A1 a few months ago looking for something that would fit in my briefcase and be the same thickness as my laptop powersupply (to fit in the same compartment). My duo played a "pure acoustic" art gallery gig last Thursday and I used a boost pedal and that Beoplay for solos (I put it on the floor behind me). It sounded great and the Beoplay is happily on my desktop today serving as my PC speaker system.

For guitar amplification, the Beoplay has some of those aural side effects I don't like, is way too expensive, but size matters (to me) in this case.